Article of wearing apparel



March 30, 1954 D. E. WEISS ARTICLE OF' WEARING APPAREL Filed May 17, 1951 Wwf?. Kw4

Patented Mar. 30, ,1954

ARTICLE OF WEARING APPAREL David E. Weiss, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Opelika Manufacturing Corporation, Chicago, lll., a corporation of Illinois Application May 17, 1951, Serial No. 226,863

2 Claims. 1

My invention relates to articles of apparel and more particularly to gowns of the type adapted t be worn by patients while confined in hospitals.

Heretofore, gowns of the kind adapted to be worn by patients in hospitals have been of the type which open in the back, with the edges of the complemental back sections being provided with tapes adapted to be tied together to effect closure of the back of the gown and securement thereof on the wearer. Such gowns, as presently constructed, have certain disadvantages. For example, the edges of the back sections of the gowns, when the tapes are tied at best only abut each other, thus, when any stress is applied to such a gown circumferentially thereof the back sections separate exposing the body of the wearer. Additionally, the tapes frequently become knotted so as to necessitate cutting of the tapes in order to permit removal of the gown. Thus, in order to recondition the gown for service new tapes must be applied, all of which adds to the maintenance cost of the gown. Another disadvantage is the discomfort experienced by the patient because of the position of the tied tapes along the backbone of the patient. Still another disadvantage of such hospital gowns is the excessive material in the lower portion of the gown which tends to bunch or fold up under the body of the patient resulting in discomfort, as well as hampering the patient in his movements.

Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to provide a gown of the type described so constructed that when worn the back of the patient is completely covered at all times, while a minimum of material is disposed under the patient, thereby avoiding discomfort to him.

Another object of my invention is the provision of novel means for effecting securement of the gown on the wearer so as to eliminate the necessity for use of tapes with their attendent disadvantages and discomfort.

Other and further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing in which- Fig. 1 is a rear perspective view of a gown in accordance with my invention and showing the same as worn on a body.

Fig. 2 is a similar fragmentary View showing another manner of securing the garment, and

Fig. 3 is a fractional perspective view of a detail of construction.

Referring to the drawing, my invention comprises a gown indicated generally by the numeral 5, the front section 6 and sleeves 'I of which may be of conventional construction. The gown is of the type which opens in the back and includes two complemental back panels 9 and I0 attached to the front section and sleeves in a well-known manner. The said panels are identically shaped but when embodied in the gown construction are arranged in confronting complemental relation, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. Each of the panels 9 and Ill is cut from fabric material so that the warp and woof of the fabric extends in the directions indicated by the arrows A-A and B-B respectively. Thus, the free longitudinal edge I I of each of the said panels 9 and I0 actually is on a bias cut. Stitched to the upper edge of the 'front section and rear panels 9 and l0 of the gown is a finishing tape I2, the ends of which extend for a short distance beyond the longitudinal edges I I of the back panels, as illustrated in Fig. 3. Attached to each of the ends of said tape is a substantially fiat member I3, which may be formed of heavy woven fabric or any other suitable material an-d which serves as a fastening element. As will be apparent by reference to Fig. 3, the member I3 preferably is arranged at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the tape I2. Each of the panels 9 and Ill is provided with a button hole I4 which is spaced back from the longitudinal edge II of each panel, the members I 3 cooperating with the buttonholes I4 to secure the gown. It will be understood however, that any other suitable type of fastening means may be employed to effect securement of the gown on the body of a wearer.

While the gown is illustrated as embodying a raglan type sleeve, it will be understood that my invention which relates specically to the construction of the back panels may be used in gowns or garments with any other suitable type of sleeve.

The manner of use of my improved gown should be apparent from the foregoing description, but briefly stated it is as follows. When the gown is placed on the body of a wearer, the panels 9 and I9 are arranged so that one overlaps the other, as illustrated in Fig. 1. In this arrangement the panel I0 overlaps the panel 9 and the fastening element I3 thereof is passed through the buttonhole I4 of panel 9, from the outside inwardly, while the fastening element I3 of the complemental panel Ill is passed through the buttonhole le of panel I0, from the inside outwardly. As will be apparent by reference to Fig. 2 the panels 9 and I0 may be oppositely positioned with panel 9 overlapping panel I0. The fastening means are positioned on opposite sides of the longitudinal center of the body and away from the backbone of the wearer where discomfort would normally be experienced. Because of the bias cut of the panels, the longitudinal marginal edges Il of the panels 9 and i6 tend to cross each other at a point somewhere below the mid point of the gown, as illustrated in Fig. l. Thus, while the back of the wearer is completely covered at all times, the portions of the panels extending below the hips are of less width than the upper portions and additionally tend to separate, as illustrated in Fig. l, thus minimizing the tendency of the material to lay in bunches or folds under the wearer, thereby adding to the comfort of the wearer.

While the invention has been described in rela-V v tion to a hospital gown, it will be understood that the invention may find application in other articles of wearing apparel. It is also to be understood that it is contemplated that the invention will be applied to front panels as well as back panels,y vof articles of Wearing apparel.

I claim:

1. In an article of wearing apparel of approximately knee length, two complemental panels cooperativelyforming the back portion of said article, each of said panels being out on a bias to provide a relatively wide width at the upper portions thereof and tapering down to a relatively y narrower width at the bottom side portions thereof and vcooperatively forming the back portion of said article and disposed in overlapped relation to each other to completely cover the back of the pers/onto the waist and separated below the waist, each oi said panelshaving a buttonhole spaced inwardly from the free edge thereof and proximate to the neck portion thereof, a tape extending from the free edge of each of said panels and having an enlargement at the end thereof to engage with a buttonhole of a complemental panel to retain said panels in the overlapped relation aforesaid.

2. In an article of wearing apparel of approximately knee length, two complemental panels each being cut on a bias to provide a relatively wide width at the upper portions thereof and tapering down to a relatively narrower width at the bottom side portions thereof and cooperatively forming the back portion of said article, each of said panels having a buttonhole spaced inwardly from the free edge thereof and proximate tothe neck portion thereof, an extension connected to the free edge of each of said panels and having an enlargement at the end thereof to engage with a buttonhole of a complemental panel, said enlargements when engaged in cooperating buttonholes securing the marginal edge portion of the upper portion of one of said panels in overlappingrelation to a corresponding portion of the other of said panels to the waist of the wearer while the marginal edge portions of the lower portions of said panels positioned below the waist are in substantially spaced relation.

DAVlD E. WEISS.

References Cited lin the le of this patent UNITED STATE-S PATENTS Number Name Date 676,158 St. John June 11, 1901 895,510 Shellenburg Aug. ll, 1908 2,307,266 Hansen Jan. 5, 1943 2,497,764 Doughty Feb. 14, 1950 2,538,471 Phelps Jan. 16, 1951 

